I Found You
by lightningbolt18
Summary: A wanted man. A missing man. A kidnapped man. *** "After my investigation, I discovered something disturbing and it is just a theory of mine, but there is no discounting the possibility of it." She said, and paused as if to take a breath before revealing her discovery. I held my breath and waited. "I think Lucius Malfoy was abducted."
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

_Hermione's POV_

I wasn't sure how it happened, but somehow I had gotten myself into this mess. I couldn't extricate myself from it. It was like trying to disentangle myself from a spider's web that had woven itself so tightly around me without completely destroying the webs. As I stared out of the rain-misted window and struggled to keep my tumultuous thoughts under rein, something strange occurred to me... A revelation. A thought. A realisation that everything I had done was wrong. And I was the only one who could mend the problem.

_Five days ago_

The door swung open and Harry stepped into my office.

"Hermione, we need your help." He said without preamble. I took in his appearance. In dark red robes and casual clothes underneath with the same round spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose, Harry looked the same as ever. He had certainly outgrown his lanky build and had formed more bulk and muscle due to the line of his work (he was an Auror), but his boyish face and features had not changed much; his jawline was slightly squarer than before, with light stubble framing it at the moment.

"What is it, Harry?" I stood up from my chair and flicked my wand, transfiguring a foot stool into a cushioned chair so that he could sit down.

"A Death Eater had escaped from Azkaban." His face was grim, and the words that came out from his mouth were worse. A Death Eater. Escaped. From Azkaban. I felt the breath leave my lungs in a whoosh as my brain processed those words.

"How?" I asked, even though I already half-guessed the answer.

"Same way Sirius escaped. He was an unregistered Animagus. We should have known." Harry ran a hand through his hair, looking extremely frustrated with himself.

"It's not your fault, Harry." I told him. I knew how he felt.

He just shook his head and gave me a forced smile.

"So who is it?" I dreaded that answer.

"Lucius Malfoy."

_Draco's POV_

I wasn't sure how the hell it happen. How did my world suddenly tilt off-axis and spin in a pirouette before crashing downwards into a black, empty, depthless hole?

"Draco, we have to find him before it's too late." Mother said. It had been 24 hours since we received the news of my father's escape from Azkaban, and she now looked as if she had aged ten years within those hours. Her smooth forehead was now creased with a perpetual frown, her eyes looked glazed and tired, and there were dark bags under them. I know I probably didn't look any better than mother- maybe I looked even worse.

I paced around the room which I had converted into my study. "I know, mother. But how? Where?"

"Besides, we're being watched so closely. I doubt father would be stupid enough to come _here_ after escaping from that hellhole." I lowered my voice into a whisper as I spoke, knowing that there was no privacy even when I was safely ensconced in the grounds of Malfoy Manor, not when there were Aurors surrounding this room as we spoke. Aurors. I stifled the urge to scoff out aloud. What would father say if he knew that he was the reason those Ministry dogs were allowed into Malfoy Manor?

"Then where did he go?" Narcissa covered her face with both hands, her tone getting desperate. We were having conflicting feelings. Both of us wanted to see him -or at least, mother wanted to more than I do- but at the same time both of us didn't want him to get caught, knowing that the consequences would be dire for him. What struck us as odd was the fact that he chose to escape at this time, when he had served his jail sentence for five years already and only had another five years to go. Maybe his sanity was at its end and he snapped. Or maybe he had been planning this escape for ages. But if that is the case, why did he not escape earlier? Why serve the sentence for five years if he already had a way out? None of this made any sense.

"I don't know." I was at a loss. The puzzle pieces just didn't fit.

Then someone knocked on the study room door and I opened it with a flick of my wand. Potter stood at the threshold of the room, looking grim as usual, and there was an unexpected visitor with him. Granger.

"Malfoy. We need to ask you a few questions." Potter said, and I waved them in. My mother stood from her chair and gave them a wane smile. After Potter had testified at my mother's trial and helped her case by telling them how she had aided him at the crucial moment of the battle, my mother had significantly softened up towards him and even Granger, who had helped throughout the trial by digging up evidences to show that my mother was a victim of circumstances.

"Fire away." I tried to smirk at them, but I didn't think they bought my devil-may-care act. Both of them looked as exhausted as I felt. With a quick swish of her wand my mother conjured two chairs and gestured for them to sit.

"Did you know anything about your father being an Animagus?" Potter asked right after his butt landed on the chair. I stilled immediately. Was that how they think he escaped?

"No. I didn't know." I replied. Granger was staring at me as if she was trying to figure out whether I was telling them the truth.

"Mrs Malfoy?" Potter turned to my mother. My mother shook her head slowly.

"I didn't know anything about Lucius being an Animagus. I've never seen him change into an animal or anything of that sort." She said.

"Are you certain that he had shown no signs of being an Animagus? Did you find him strange during a period of time, or did spend large amounts of time keeping to himself?" Granger spewed a string of questions, her voice sounding strangely high-pitched and shrill.

I fought the urge to frown at her. "Nothing of that sort happened, Granger."

"Hermione." Potter said to her, his tone sounded as if he was warning her. Something strange was going on.

"What the hell is it? Do you have a theory?" I was unable to hold myself back. If they had some idea where my father was and was hiding it from me...

"Harry. They should know." Granger was whispering furiously to Potter.

"There's no evidence to your theory, Hermione! You'd just worry them for nothing." He shot back, equally angry. I had not seen Potter so riled up since the last time when he had worked on a horrendous murder case.

"_What's going on? _You'll tell me now, Potter, or I swear I'll-" I began, but mother quickly interrupted me in a reprimanding tone, "Draco!"

Then she faced them and said in an imploring tone, "Please tell us what is going on, Mr Potter."

Granger glanced at Potter expectantly and he relented with a slight huff. "Go ahead and tell them."

Her eyes were wide and shining with an emotion I could not place. Was it sympathy? I felt a lurch in my stomach at that possibility.

"After my investigation, I discovered something disturbing and it is just a theory of mine, but there is no discounting the possibility of it." She said, and paused as if to take a breath before revealing her discovery.

I held my breath and waited.

"I think Lucius Malfoy was abducted."


	2. Chapter 2

_Hermione's POV_

Both of the Malfoys looked stunned. I had to admit that my theory was strange, considering the fact that there ought to be no motivation for someone to attempt such a thing, yet I felt it in my very bones that something was very wrong, because nothing of this incident had made any sense.

"Are you daft, Granger? Knock some sense into her, Potter." Malfoy sputtered and his face was turning red from the effort of trying not to laugh out loud. I frowned.

"I know it doesn't sound possible, but it is! Maybe you can start helping by listing down the names of your father's enemies." I told him, ignoring the fact that his mouth was twitching the entire time I spoke.

"That was just... brilliant. Yeah, someone kidnapped my father and got him out of Azkaban so that he could _suffer_. I didn't know someone so sadistic exists, since that person wants to torture him and make him suffer more than Azkaban did." Malfoy scoffed.

"I have my reasons for that theory, Malfoy, if you would care to listen to them." I countered hotly.

Malfoy's lips had now curled into a full-fledged smirk. "Go ahead and enlighten me, Miss Know-it-all."

I took a deep breath, ready to launch into a torrent of explanations that would knock Malfoy off his feet, and then Harry interrupted.

"Wait a minute. Do you hear that?" He held up a hand and stopped her. They all froze instantly and the sound of faint, distant voices of protests reached their ears. Without a word, Harry took out his wand and cast a protective barrier around all of them.

Then the door was blasted open. Or more accurately, the entire room was blasted apart. The ground shook as the explosion occurred, sending objects flying and crashing onto the ground from the shelves, the furniture were splintered into pieces. Mrs Malfoy screamed as a huge splinter of wood came hurtling towards her but it was repelled by the barrier.

"_What the hell?_" Harry swore under his breath as he kept his barrier in place until the chaos around them ceased. The entire place was a wreck. Three of the four walls around them had been blasted off, leaving gaping holes in them. Through the cloud of dust, they saw a few bodies lying prone on the ground beyond the corridor.

"Hermione, I'm going to check on them. Be on your guard." Harry told me in a low voice and ventured forward carefully. I had my wand in my hand already, gripping it tightly as I felt the familiar feeling of adrenalin flooding into my veins. It had been years since anything like this happened. The last time I remember such a thing happening was when Harry, Ron and I were on the run and fighting against Voldemort.

Beside me, Malfoy had his wand whipped out, but Narcissa Malfoy was defenseless. She was still under house arrest and was forbidden to use magic.

"Now you believe my theory, Malfoy?" I said without turning to look at him.

"What does this have to do with-"

"Oh yeah, right. Does your house get exploded on a monthly basis or something? Because I don't think what just happened is normal, Malfoy. Clearly someone had a grudge on your family, or not why would that person target Malfoy manor?" I spoke through my teeth.

He was silent for a moment. "I don't think we Malfoys are the only targets in this." He waved a hand expansively at the mess around them.

I looked at him, waiting for him to elaborate.

"I think the target may be one of us."

_Draco's POV_

I watched her expression and waited for it to change. To her credit, Granger's face remained impassive even though I could practically hear the cogs and wheels in her brain start to turn.

"That's possible." She admitted after a while, her mouth tightening into a thin line that resembled a grimace.

Ah-ha. So Granger the Know-it-all was admitting that _I _could be right.

"If your theory is correct, then this must be an inside job. Since no one other than those guys should know that Harry and I will be here today." She added.

I nodded. It wasn't as if there weren't any rogue Aurors around. Perhaps Potter ought to be more careful about who he trusts.

"Harry?" Granger called out to Potter, who was kneeling by his colleagues and examining them.

"Hermione, they're severely wounded. Help me tend to them." Potter said and Granger went to him immediately. I hesitated slightly until my mother gave me a nudge.

"Mum... I don't think it's safe yet. I'm going to stay by your side." I told her.

I couldn't believe it, but my mother actually gave me a little roll of her eyes. "I may be wandless, Draco, but I'm not a fool. I'll go with you and have a look at them."

I couldn't disagree to that, so I nodded. The sight of my newly converted study demolished to bits of debris and dust sent a surge of anger coursing through me. If I ever find out who did this, that person was going to wish he or she was never alive.

As I approached, I saw Granger muttering spells under her breath and Potter checking the area. The bodies of four Aurors were strewn on the ground, their limbs protruding in a strange angle. I knelt by one of them and flipped him over so that he was on his back. My breath hitched at the sight of his burnt flesh and bile rose in my throat.

"Stay back if you can't handle it, Malfoy." I heard a voice beside my ear and started. Granger was kneeling beside me and I had not noticed. She began to heal the person, casting complicated spells that I had not known of.

"Didn't know you're also a healer, Granger." I commented lightly and saw that she was surprised. Oh yeah I forgot, she was waiting for some sarcastic rejoinder from me. Apparently I had acted out of character by ignoring her barely-veiled insult.

"I'm not. But when we were on the run from Voldemort, I had learned a lot about healing." She replied, and I was struck by the fact that we were actually conversing in a civil manner sans the usual insults.

"Oh." I didn't know what to say to that as I was reminded by the fact that we were on opposing sides during the war.

"Hermione, I found something." Our awkward silence was interrupted by Potter, who sounded unexpectedly grave. Both Hermione and I turned to look at him and I saw that he was holding something in his hand. Something like scraps of metal.

Granger sucked in a breath audibly. "Is that what I think it is?" She asked, standing up abruptly to get a better look and Harry nodded, his expression dark.

I looked at them in confusion. _What the hell is that supposed to mean?_

Granger answered my question before I could voice it aloud, "That explosion occurred through muggle means."

"Meaning?"

"Someone smuggled a bomb in here and planted it right under our noses."

"Bomb?" _  
_

"It's a muggle device that causes an explosion." Granger explained.

_Oh hell._

"I didn't know muggles could do this kind of stuff too." I mumbled, but Granger was looking anything but happy at the fact that I was acknowledging the cleverness of muggles.

"This could mean anything, Hermione. Don't jump to conclusions." Potter interjected, and suddenly something clicked.

_Oh wait. Muggle device. Granger is the only muggle here._

"This is _your_ fault?" The words spilled out of my mouth before I could stop myself, and I stood up, backing away as Granger's visage darkened in anger.

"What the hell are you insinuating, Malfoy?" She spat out.

"Calm down, Granger. I didn't mean to-"

"Didn't mean to?_ Didn't mean to?_ You all but spelled it out that I planted this bomb and tried to get all of us killed! Very clever of you, Malfoy-"

"I didn't mean _that_! I was just saying maybe _you_ were the target. Seeing that you know more muggles than any of us here do." I cut in before she could launch into another angry tirade.

"I'm sure Draco didn't mean to accuse you of anything, Miss Granger." Mother added in a soothing tone.

"Right. Seeing that he and I were best chums in school, I'm sure that's the case." She muttered sarcastically, but she let it go and turned back to her patients when Harry gave her a pointed look.

Then as I looked around the room to survey the damage done to my house, something occurred to me immediately.

"Potter, you said that there were five Aurors stationed in my house. Where's the fifth one?"


	3. Chapter 3

The ruined corridor was shrouded in silence as the four people standing in it glanced at each other.

"Huntley's missing." Harry announced grimly after a moment.

"And so we have the culprit." Draco said.

Harry seemed to ponder on his statement but Hermione immediately interjected, "I don't think so, Malfoy."

"Huntley could be under the influence of the Imperius curse. Or... he could be an entirely different person. Polyjuice potion, remember?" She continued. The logic in her deduction gave them pause.

"Or he could be doing this by his own free will." Draco added darkly. He couldn't think of any reason for Huntley to target the Malfoys. They had no dealings in the past, from what he could recall, but maybe his father had when he was connected to the Ministry. That was something to ponder about.

"As far as I know, Huntley is a pureblood. There's no way he's familiar with bombs. He lives in the wizarding society and doesn't mingle a lot with muggles. He didn't reveal any hatred of them though." Harry mused aloud.

"Anyhow, what we should do now is try to locate that man. Before it is too late." Hermione said.

Harry immediately conjured a patronus and relayed instructions to the stag for it to bring reinforcements while the rest of them waited.

* * *

"Get up, you filth!" A kick sent him tumbling down the dark stairs into an underground cellar and Lucius Malfoy was too weak to even let out a groan at the pain. His body was hurting all over and there was a pounding ache between his eyes.

"Not so high and mighty now, are you, you pureblooded filth?" There was another punch to his face, but he was feeling so numb that he could hardly react to that.

Then blood filled his mouth, a metallic taste that almost made him choke.

"You're going to have a lot of fun here, I promise you. It'll be better than the dungeons you have in your manor. And even better than Azkaban!" The male voice was punctuated with maniacal laughter, then Lucius felt a stabbing pain on his left arm, like a thick needle was being inserted into in flesh. After a few seconds, the needle was pulled out and he gasped through the agony, "W-Why..."

"You know why, Malfoy. _You know why_." He whispered, loud and clear into the empty darkness.

And then he left, his footfalls fading into the distance and the door to the cellar clanged shut.

Lucius didn't bother to close his eyes. He was already surrounded by darkness, a pitch black colour that was darker than those nights he spent in Azkaban prison. And it felt colder here too, with the cold night air blanketing him, pressing against his skin like an icy compression that he could not remove.

He was so tired. He just wanted to lay down, close his eyes and forget. Forget the horror, the smell of blood and death and fear. Forget the sound of inhuman screams that haunted his every night, every time he fell into the realm of dreams.

He wished that someone would just Obliviate him so that he could forget.

* * *

_Hermione's POV_

Ever since that incident in Malfoy Manor, my thoughts were in a constant turmoil. Huntley was not found, but the four Aurors had reported that there were no signs of him being different than his usual self during that day itself. Harry had insisted that all four of us have extra protection. Even now, as I sat in my comfy chair by my study table and wished that I had more stimulating company other than the one sitting right opposite me, I could do nothing but sigh.

"Penny for your thoughts, Hermione?"

Why the hell did Harry have to arrange for _him_ to protect me?

Cormac McLaggen crossed his arms -I didn't know whether to be impressed or disgusted by the blatant display of those overly muscular arms- as he eyed me with undisguised curiosity. I hated the way he looked at me, as if I was a puzzle he could never solve, as if I was so convoluted that that tiny pea-brain of his couldn't possibly imagine what I was.

"It's nothing, McLaggen." I told him tersely. Being with undesired company had a way of fraying my nerves, and he was high on the 'undesirables' list.

"You sighed five times within two minutes. It's not nothing." He insisted.

_Merlin, he's so annoying._

"I'm thinking about the incidents, alright?" I replied, grabbing the glass of water on my table and downing it in a large gulp.

"As I thought. Why don't you share your theories with me? I may come up with something helpful." McLaggen added, much to my surprise. He was acting strange. As far as I'd known him, he had always been a arrogant and self-assured bastard with the tendency to patronise me and disparage my theories. This is the first time I'd heard him ask me to share my opinion in such a polite phrasing.

Cautiously, I told him about what I thought about the case. His eyes widened in surprise as I related my suspicions of Lucius Malfoy being abducted, but he did not dismiss my ideas right away as I thought he would.

"Why would anyone go through the trouble to abduct a man who is already in Azkaban? That doesn't make sense." He asked finally, after I had spoken.

I shrugged. "It could be a personal grudge."

"Why do you think he didn't escape on his own?"

"Think, McLaggen. He still have only half of his prison sentence left. If he had a way to escape, why didn't he do it earlier?"

"Maybe he had an accomplice?"

"It was a possibility. But the Azkaban guards are rotated regularly and the security measures are very tight there."

"Maybe his family got someone to get him out."

"I don't think..." I began to say, but McLaggen gave me a pointed look.

"Okay, I concede to the fact that there is such a possibility. But why would someone attack Malfoy Manor if that is the case?"

"Hermione. You are connecting both cases together. Why?"

"It's the timing. And the location. I just can't shake off the feeling that both incidents are somehow connected." I told him, and saw an unfamiliar glint surface in his eyes.

He made me uneasy, Cormac McLaggen. He never made me feel comfortable around him, but this was the first time I felt this uncomfortable around him. The way his eyes followed me around made me feel like I was being stalked, not protected.

"Excuse me for a moment, McLaggen." I stood and walked out of my study. When I left the room, I headed to the bathroom and shut myself in it.

Taking out my wand, I whispered, "_Expecto Patronum_" and a silvery otter erupted from the tip of my wand. "Find Harry and tell him that McLaggen was acting weird. Something's wrong with him."

The otter disappeared from my sight and I took in a deep breath. The mirror hung on the wall opposite me reflected my face. I looked at it, examining my face. I looked terrible, like I had not slept in three days, which was rather true. There were dark shadows beneath my eyes, my lips were dry and my skin looked flaky.

I shook myself out of my thoughts. Perhaps I could confront McLaggen and find out what was wrong with him before Harry arrived.

When I approached the study, I had my wand in my hand, ready to fight him if things went wrong. Then I pushed open the door, and found McLaggen lying face-down on the carpeted floor of my study. His body was still and panic rushed through me. I stepped forward and knelt beside him, flipping his prone body so that he was on his back, then I leaned down closer, prepared to cast a spell when his eyes opened.

For a moment I was stunned, and before I could back away, his hands snaked up to catch mine with a vise-like grip.

His eyes found mine and I froze instantly. They were flat brown eyes. And Cormac McLaggen's eye colour was-

"_Stupefy._" He whispered and I felt the shock of magic jolt through my body before I collapsed.

* * *

All was well. Everything was going according to plan, and he'd be damned if he let this inquisitive little muggle-born witch mess them up.

With a cold laugh, 'Cormac McLaggen' pushed her still body off him and stood, surveying the room for a moment. His hair was slowly turning black, and his figure shrank slightly, from that muscular build into a lankier one.

Then he picked up the body and vanished with a slight pop.

**_Thank you for reading! Please review the story and tell me what you think of it. (It's my first time writing a fanfic.) And of course, I don't own Harry Potter, it belongs solely to JK Rowling. _**


	4. Chapter 4

_Draco's POV_

"This is utter shit," I growled at Potter as I paced around my study. Potter looked just as agitated as I was but he managed to keep a biting retort to himself.

"How the hell did that woman manage to disappear herself and bring along one of your Aurors?" That woman I was referring to was Granger, of course. And yes, she'd been missing for two days.

"I don't bloody know, Malfoy. So instead of whining like a spoilt kid why don't you help me figure out what the hell is going on?" Finally, Potter had lost his patience and snapped at me.

"Well, if I know Granger, she's certainly not the type to disappear suddenly without informing someone. So I think she's abducted by that piece of shit named Cormac McLaggen."

"I already know that. The thing is I have no idea where is she taken to!"

"And you ask me? How the hell am I supposed to know where?" I snapped back at him.

Potter was silent for a moment, then he said in a serious tone, "Malfoy. If you have anything to do with this, this is your chance to come clean."

_What the hell?_ I turned and glared at him. "You think _I_ was the one who orchestrated everything?"

Potter shrugged. "Maybe you wanted to help your father and took him out from Azkaban. Then perhaps Hermione had found some leads and you didn't want her to tip us off."

His nonchalant tone set me off. I stalked towards him and grabbed the collar of his shirt in my fist, barely able to control myself from hexing him.

"_Maybe_, Potter. But I didn't do it, so you'd better get your arse out of here and _do your job_." I hissed to his face.

To my surprise, Potter didn't get angry as I thought he would. He was looking at me curiously, as if gauging the truth of my words. I dropped my hand, disgusted by my own display of violence.

"If you didn't do it, then help us find her." He said.

"I don't know how I can help in this. I barely know Granger." I replied.

"Maybe you know her better than you think."

I rolled my eyes at Potter's statement but thought about it. Did I know Granger? We'd always been rivals, no, sworn enemies, in Hogwarts, but after the war, we had developed a truce, albeit an uneasy one, but we had not been enemies since then. She'd changed so much after the war. Her body had become really womanly, with ample curves and a perfect figure that made many women jealous (I had to be blind to not notice that), though her temperament was as fiery as ever. For a man who loved a challenge, she was the perfect pick. And no, I was not talking about myself.

"Nice try, Potter, but I don't think so. Did you try to track her down?" I asked.

"I'd placed tracking spells on McLaggen but not Hermione. But I think someone had removed it from McLaggen." Potter ran a hand through his unruly hair, as if it wasn't messy enough already.

"Obviously. Whoever did all this, that person's not stupid." I said, twirling my wand between my fingers.

* * *

_Hermione's POV_

Ouch... My head hurt like hell. I couldn't remember anything except that McLaggen had... Oh _shit_! McLaggen! No, that was not McLaggen. That was someone else... but who the hell was it?_  
_

I looked around the room. It was small but neat, with very little furniture - just the bed and a small desk that was empty. It was clear that this room had been unoccupied for quite some time.

"I see that you're awake, Miss Granger." A pleasant voice came from the open doorway and I jerked my head up to see a man standing by it, smiling slightly.

"Who the hell are you?" I clenched the thin blanket within my fist as I spoke, unwilling to let the little tremor in my voice betray my fear.

"I'm a scientist. One who is championing the right for muggles to own magic. The right of people like us to use magic like the purebloods and half-bloods do." He said, and I was surprised that he was so frank with me. I was expecting so cryptic answer that required me to figure things out.

People like us... This man must be a muggle-born wizard like me.

"That doesn't explain why I'm here." I wave a hand at my surroundings.

"I needed your help, Miss Granger, to figure out a few things." He replied, still having that oddly pleasant smile on his face.

"So you felt the need to kidnap me? What makes you think I'm going to help you after you've done such a thing to me?" I retorted sharply, and began to measure the situation in my head. Obviously I already had my wand taken from me, and clearly this wizard was not going to let me go easily. I was trapped, and without a wand, I could do nothing.

His smile widened, and in that instant I felt a shiver creeping up my spine.

"Come with me and you'll find out. You won't refuse me after I show you." He said, that cryptic little smile still at his lips.

I nodded, knowing that I had no choice, since he was obviously armed and I was not.

As if he could sense my thoughts, he added, "I wouldn't try anything stupid if I were you, Miss Granger."

I nodded again, pretending to be submissive. If he thought me harmless, perhaps he might let down his guard and unintentionally leave a few loopholes for me to find a way out of my predicament.

I slid down the bed and wobbled slightly on my feet. It felt as if I had not used my body for a few days. My muscles were stiff and I had to lay a hand on the desk to steady myself.

"Are you quite alright? After all, you'd been out for quite a few hours. Do you need a hand?" The man cocked his head slightly in a curious tilt.

"No thank you." I snapped back without thinking, hating the feeling of being weak. It reminded me of the time when I was captured to Malfoy Manor...

_No, stop, don't think about that!_ I quickly pushed that memory out of my head.

"Shall we then?" He held the door open like he was a gentleman, and I resisted the urge to snort at him. Even Harry and Ron didn't do this sort of thing for me.

_Malfoy did, though_. A little voice in my head piped up, and I hurriedly clamped down that thought. _Why would I think of Draco Malfoy at such a moment?_

And suddenly it occurred to me that Lucius Malfoy might also be trapped in this place by this lunatic. But why? I didn't even know why I had such an idea. I could only call it a woman's intuition.

I shuffled forward and after I went through the doorway, a hand clamped on my wrist and I nearly cuffed that man with an instinctive right hook, but my other hand was caught in midair.

"Nuh-uh. No games remember, Miss Granger? I should have known that you wouldn't be obedient." His gaze narrowed then he let go of my hands. Suddenly my hands were jerked behind me forcefully and invisible ropes coiled around my wrists so that I was securely bound.

I stifled a gasp of shock and dismay. _Wandless magic!_ He must a quite a powerful wizard to be able to perform such a feat.

"That's better. Come along now. You still want to use your feet, don't you?" The smile returned to his face as he surveyed his handiwork, looking pleased by it. I quickly nodded in a subservient manner. If my feet were bound, it'd mean that I'd have no chance of escape at all.

We were in a dimly lit corridor that had a few rooms lining it, and I took the chance to look around. It appeared that I was in a huge house that was quite well-furnished. My feet barely made any sound as I trudged on the carpeted floor, I noted with satisfaction. I squinted into the darkness, trying see the end of the corridor when I was hauled to a stop.

"Here." He pointed at one of the doors. It looked like a completely normal door, wooden and nondescript, but for some reason my heart began to pound faster, and my ears were filled with the thunderous sound of of my blood rushing through my veins.

And when he opened the door and revealed what's behind it, I fell back against the wall in total shock. My body froze and my heart stopped its beating.

There was utter silence, and then I let out a gasp of despair.

**_Please, please leave a review (it'll really motivate me to write if you do), and thanks for reading! And of course, Harry Potter belongs solely to JK Rowling._**


End file.
